With a great teaser trailer, great poster,
good tagline, and a good cast, S.W.A.T.
evidently proved the numerous theories
wrong this weekend about whether or not
another action movie would serve at the
box office. The flick's opening day tally
neared Daredevil (also starring Colin
Farrell) at $15.3 million and $4,330
per-screen), as well as Blade 2 ($12.0
million - $4,416 per-screen), and even
eclipsed Minority Report's $11.7 million
($3,887 per-screen) with that film's
sizzling ad-campaign.
The mention of "From
the Producers of Fast and the Furious and
XXX" likely paid off with the majority of
moviegoers, with S.W.A.T. offering a cast
that could reach out to numerous ethnic
backgrounds. For the weekend, the Sony
action flick may battle with a second day
decline if opening night was frontloaded,
but either way, a tally in the region of
$35 - 39 million seems likely.
After a strong
Wednesday debut that proved the magical
beauty of Disney marketing, Freaky Friday
came in with a very delightful $7.9
million ($2,659 per-screen) on Friday,
adding its three day total to $18.8
million. The Friday tally was similar to
Dr. Dolittle 2's opening day ($8.5 million
- $2,776 per-screen), but didn't surpass
Disney's own Princess Diaries ($8.3
million - $3,272 per-screen). With fun
reviews and great word of mouth, Freaky
Friday should be headed for a weekend
gross of $22 - 24 million. |